The event will be held at the City Council Chambers, 1115 S. Main Street, West Bend.

The format will include an introductory statement by each candidate. Candidates will take turns answering questions and will be allowed conclusion time.

The moderator will be Randy Melchert, former state assembly candidate and political analyst. Eagle Forum is offering this event as a community service to the greater Washington County area. The forum will be aired multiple times on the West Bend Community Cable channel, reaching West Bend on Charter channel 99, Washington County / Dodge County / Sheboygan on Charter channel 987, throughout Milwaukee on AT&T uVerse channel 99, as well as online for later viewing.

District II Court of Appeals candidates Judge Paul Reilly and and Judge Linda Van De Water will be first on the agenda, followed by candidates for County Supervisor seats from the City and Town of West Bend.

I watched the school board candidate forum from the comfort of my home last night because, quite frankly, I've been under the weather like a lot of other Wisconsinites during cold season. What I found interesting from the start is that the candidates were not seated in ballot order as they were in the former candidate forum for the primary election. This, in and of itself, should cause one to raise an eyebrow at the Chamber of Commerce.

While the majority of the forum was status quo as debates go, it was clear that Corazzi was on the defense from the get-go and it was quite an interesting performance. Kathy VanEerden stuck to her usual Stepford-wife routine and spewed pro-Herdrich commentary and rehearsed DPI rhetoric. It's nothing we haven't heard before and, unfortunately, quite boring and nothing that has saved the West Bend School District from it's financial woes.

Randy Marquardt put his best foot forward by allowing the audience in on his farm-boy upbringing, assuring West Benders that his roots here go deep. His educational voyage into architecture is impressive and commendable. To his (and our) greatest benefit is the experience he brings with his time spent on the CFAC-II committee. Randy's public speaking is down to earth and makes people comfortable with him. His time spent in the clockworks of the school district is invaluable.

Moving on to Dave Weigand, I saw someone who put forth a large amount of information for an incumbent. Weigand came equipped with an easel and a diagram in order to explain his strategy for the school district budget. Not only did he share his philosophy for the future of our children's education, he had plenty to say about managing the school's budget in difficult economic times. Weigand presented numerous suggestions and ideas, which proves he is thinking deeply and will be proactive from the get-go if elected.

Lynn Corazzi showed a lot of passion, but most of it was directed in an unfortunate and unbecoming manner. Corazzi sat to the left of Weigand, which meant that in nearly every instance he spoke after Weigand. He used this to his (dis)advantage and instead of giving solid insight to his position as a candidate, he waited for Weigand to be finished and threw personal darts and accusations at Weigand. To Corazzi's discredit, this is not his first performance as a mudslinger. Last Saturday's two-hour candidate interview on WBKV with Bob Bonenfant produced more of the same, only worse. Corazzi could be heard consistently interrupting Weigand, taunting and provoking in a most unprofessional manner. Weigand refused to respond in kind, as is his usual calm approach even in difficult situations.

These behaviors, along with the facts that Corazzi is pro-tax, pro-referendum, pro-everything-that-takes-money-out-of-taxpayers-pockets kind of guy, will be Corazzi's demise on April 6.

Voters should take heed of the above character traits of Lynn Corazzi as well as the longstanding track record of Kathy VanEerden on a school board that has spiraled to the financial bottom. As Weigand said in last night's interview with the West Bend Daily News:

Thursday, March 25, 2010

MADISON — State Rep. Pat Strachota (R-West Bend) met Wednesday with a group of legislators who are hoping to pass a resolution that would compel state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to join other states in a lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the health care bill that was signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Strachota said she signed on to the measure and her main constitutional issue with the controversial legislation is the 10th Amendment dealing with states’ rights. She said she hasn’t focused in on the legality of the individual mandate, which would go into effect in 2014 and assesses fines for people who choose not to purchase health insurance.

Washington, D.C. - Phyllis Schlafly, president and founder of the conservative grassroots public policy organization Eagle Forum, made the following remarks after the public announcement that formerly pro-life Democrat Bart Stupak (D-MI) will cast a "yes" vote for the Senate health care bill today in the House.UPDATE: Just before 11pm Eastern, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) by a vote of 219 to 212 (Roll Call 165).
"It is naïve for any elected official, especially one who describes himself as ‘pro-life,' to expect that a promise to issue an Executive Order that reasserts the intentions of the Hyde Amendment will be fulfilled by the most pro-abortion president to ever sit in the White House. Perhaps Mr. Stupak and his fellow pro-life Democrats forget that President Obama's first Executive Order was the repeal of the Mexico City Policy to allow for international funding of abortion."
"Not only would an Executive Order be rendered meaningless in the face of Congress passing legislation which actively provides for the massive expansion and funding of abortion services, but anyone who doubts the abortion tsunami which awaits this bill becoming law lives in a fantasy world."
"Barack Obama has lined every existing federal agency with the most dedicated pro-abortion ideologues, and we know that he will continue this pattern of pro-abortion appointments when it comes time for him to fill the over-100 bureaucracies created to administer his socialized health care program."
"Any formerly pro-life Democrat who voted ‘Yes' on the Senate health care bill tonight will be forever remembered as being among the deciding votes which facilitated the largest expansion of abortion services since Roe v. Wade."
"Mr. Stupak and his Democrat followers have now clarified that you cannot be pro-life and be a Democrat. If abortion was truly their biggest issue, they wouldn't willfully align themselves with the Party of Death."
"This vote has exposed the myth of the ‘pro-life Democrat.' With this single vote, the Democratic Party has divided our nation into the Democrat Party of Death and the Republican Party of Life, and future elections will never be the same."

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Carpool! Take your neighbors, your elderly parents, andencourage college students to get to the city hall or your local polling place and VOTE TODAY. Then you are DONE. No voting on April 6th if you do it now, and you don't have to clear the date or try to remember, either!

Get at least 10 people you know to do this! ABSENTEE VOTING IS OUR BEST WAY TO ENSURE THOSE WHO WOULDN'T ORDINARILY VOTE to get in and ensure their voice is heard!

The list of polling places is below!

This is a list of municipalities in the school district of West Bend with complete contact information:

1) City of West Bend: West Bend City Hall, Attn: City Clerk, 1115 S Main St, West Bend 53095

Hours: M-F 8-4:30, Ph 262-335-5100

2) Town of Jackson: Town Hall, 3146 Division Rd, Jackson 53037

Ph 262-677-4048

3) Village of Jackson: Village Hall, N168W20733 Main St, Jackson 53037

Friday, March 19, 2010

These members of Congress remain undecided on the federal government takeover of our health care. If you know anyone living in these districts, tell them to call their member of congress below and tell them to VOTE NO. These Democrats hold our health care in the palm of their hands. The vote goes down on Sunday night, and Nancy Pelosi thinks we aren't watching.

From the Washington Times:Sharon Slater, a mother of seven, innocently walked into a panel sponsored by the Girl Scouts USA at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women a few weeks ago. Almost immediately she was asked to leave. All non-Scout adults were kicked out of the room, which was packed with adolescent girls.

.....

Slater found a stack of brochures produced by Planned Parenthood called "Healthy, Happy and Hot" that among other things explained to the girls, "Some people have sex when they have been drinking or using drugs. That is your choice."

.....

But it gets worse. The sex guide explains, "Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse. But there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. Sex can include kissing, touching, licking, tickling, sucking and cuddling. Some people like to have aggressive sex, while others like to have soft sex and slow sex with their partners.

.....

Besides advice about the prostate, the brochure, subtitled "Rights, Sexuality and Living with HIV," also gives incorrect and even dangerous information about rights and responsibilities.

.....

At the same UN meeting, which ended last Friday, the World Association of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides produced a document saying young women "demand their sexual and reproductive rights including access to comprehensive sexuality education, and sexual and reproductive services including contraception and emergency contraception, in order to avoid unintended pregnancies" and also called for access to "safe abortion."

.....

At a Girl Scout conference in 2004, co-sponsored by Planned Parenthood, the Girl Scouts handed out a brochure to 700 grade-school girls with the title "It's Perfectly Normal," a guide that celebrated masturbation and that featured explicit drawings of couples having sex and a boy putting on a condom. It also listed, no surprise here, the top ten reasons for having an abortion.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

I hereby request that an investigation be opened to determine if West Bend School Board candidate Lynn Corazzi has violated Wis. Stat. 12.05. His campaign website (http://www.corazziforwbschools.com) uses the term "Re-Elect" in the header on the home page and each sub-page.[1] Mr. Corazzi was appointed by the Mayor school board of West Bend due to the resignation of former board member John Duwell; he was never elected.

Wis. Stat. 12.05 states: "False representations affecting elections. No person may knowingly make or publish, or cause to be made or published, a false representation pertaining to a candidate or referendum which is intended or tends to affect voting at an election."
It is clear from examining how situations like this have been handled in other states, that a candidate who has been appointed cannot claim to be re-elected. In Florida, New Mexico, Ohio, and Nebraksa, governing bodies have addressed situations have occurred where a candidate was appointed to his position, and in the next election runs for "re-election." In every case, the decision was that the use of the term “re-elect” by a person who was appointed and never elected, is inappropriate and not allowed.

In Florida, a candidate asked the Florida Supreme Court - Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee for an advisory opinion to his question: “Where a judge is in a contested election immediately after the judge's gubernatorial appointment, may the judge use the word "re-elect" in conjunction with the judge's campaign advertisements?.” The candidate was told No, however he could use the word “Retain.” Based on dictionary definitions of “re-elect” – the Committee held that “retain” is an appropriate term for such a candidate, and not “re-elect.”[2]

In New Mexico, the Judicial Ethics Handbook discusses the code that prohibits candidates from using advertising that contains “misleading contents.” Appointed judges have been “counseled not to use the term ‘re-elect’” under this Code.[3]
Ohio Statute 3517.21(B)(1) specifically forbids the “use the term “re-elect” when the candidate has never been elected at a primary, general, or special election to the office for which he or she is a candidate.”[4]

Finally, the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission replied to the inquiry: “May an individual who is currently occupying the office of an elected county official by appointment use the word "re-elect" on campaign publications or advertising?” The Commission concluded that “whether or not one is an incumbent, and whether one has been previously elected or appointed to an elective office is likely to be material in that it is usually an important enough matter to influence some voters in an election. Therefore, it is the opinion of the Commission that, under the facts you have outlined, use of the word "re-elect" by your client should be avoided due to the potential to mislead some persons on a matter which may be significant enough to influence their voting.”[5]
Corazzi has been challenged by voters on his use of “re-elect,” yet still uses the term “re-elect.”

I challenge that Lynn Corazzi’s statement on his website violates Wis. Stat. 12.05 by making a false representation pertaining to a candidate, namely himself. Enclosed with this letter is the following:

Monday, March 15, 2010

Posted on "Save West Bend Schools" Facebook page. Someone else just doing their homework. This should raise a few eyebrows. Methinks LYNN CORAZZI has some 'splainin' to do. Nice info going into the election!

Good morning Lynn,

I am listing out the most obvious/egregious financial issues that I have identified via District documents. To be absolutely clear, none of the data below is from my sources and is purely and unequivocably extracted from District data and FOIA requested data.

A few points of information to insure that you are clear on my standpoint:

(1) If the Board intends to have "transparency", then my FOIA requests should be unnecessary and a clear red flag to you that transparency is not happening. I have documented emails from myself to Adminstration staff requesting specific data and explanations and have received no responses. That is unacceptable as a community member and should be unacceptable to you as a representative of the community. I have alerted both yourself and Kris Beaver to this situation and continue to await a response and action. Failure to hold anyone in the Administration accountable for public responses is silent approval on your part.

(2) You stated that the District is a business. Then it should be run like a business. Of the 1 1/2 years of sitting on the CFAC committee, not once did we ever review the prior years actual financial performance to the budgeted numbers. Failure to hold department heads accountable to their budgets relegates the budget to be a moot point and useless. In other words, why spend months putting together a budget that nobody follows and nobody is held accountable? in business, an employee(s) get fired for failure to achieve their budgeted numbers. Again, lack of accountability is very apparent.

(3) Responsibility. Per the District charter, your "job description" as a Board member, and per the District Attorney, you have a responsibility to hold the Administration accountable for "use and disbursement of all public funds". As you stated at the Jackson PTO meeting, "spending $50000 is easy" which makes me question your financial mindset. You took the job, you are accountable for doing the job. As the District Attorney reminded me, "ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law". As you will see below, there are multiple financial issues and now that you are being duly informed via this email, you can no longer claim ignorance.

(4) The files that are attached illustrate key points. The first one was published by the Milwaukee Journal in early December, 2009 (file name "tasr"). Other than listing the West Bend School District alphabetically, the true ranking of the District when it comes to average teacher pay and lack of tenure puts the West Bend District in the TOP 10% of the State Districts. This third party data clearly contradicts your mantra of being the lowest spending District in Wisconsin when in fact it clearly shows that we are paying more inexperienced teachers a higher average salary than the compared districts.

The other file is the recommended 2010-2011 capital projects requested by Dave Ross, District construction guy. As you can see, it totals $1,080,000 for all the projects listed. Going into the 2010-2011 school year with you telling us that we should be expecting another "tax to the max" tax levy coupled by a $2 million deficit makes me question the disconnect between the Administration (represented by Dave Ross in this example) and the financial realities of the District. I am not questioning the worthiness of the projects and have no knowledge about their impact, however, it is glaringly obvious that anyone who is blinded by the financial realities of the District and holds this type of leadership position should be removed from office. The logic of spending ourselves out of a growing deficit is contrary to every economic model and you, as a Board member, should be counseling Dr. Pat about the inappropriateness of these collective recommendations. Either she is disconnected or she is not actively managing this guy. Either way, the buck stops with her and that is your job to hold her accountable.

(5) Upon review of the 2008-2009 actual vs budgeted financial performance report provided via FOIA request (403 page document), I want to commend Mr. Heimark for being one of 3 principals who actually held to their budgets. The previous sentence should make you wonder....that means that ALL of the other department heads DID NOT. If you are running a business, 3 of roughly 20 managers hit their numbers and 17 did not. I would keep the 3 and fire the 17, including the General Manager (in this case, superintendent). As much as Mr. Heimark has cut services, decresed expenses, and run a comparatively stable expense rate for last year, his peers are spending money like it is going out of style. Since the District is not providing the date of actual expenses on this report, I can only go off when the journal entries are made and it is glaringly obvious that when the last entries in each sub section are massive dollar expenditures that those expenses are coming at the end of the school year and the person doing the spending is trying to use up all the money left in their budget because they have a "use it or lose it mindset". That forces you, The Board, to give them the same amount or more the next school year because it makes it look like they really needed the money. Again, the problem is that there is zero accountability for this kind of spending.

Here are some obvious expenditures that should be questioned:

2008 - $674000 spent on land in Village of Jackson. Per your logic, if services drop, property values decline, families relocate to other districts, then we wont need the land to build a new school. SELL the land for $500000 and return the money to the general fund.

+

Insurance on the Village Land. Not disclosed. Guess $10000 annually

+
$100000 (salary, taxes, benefits) 2008 hired a marketing guy from Midwest Express to market the referendum. Referendum is done with. Why are we still employing a marketing director for a school district?

+ $301000 VOIP phone system. District notes clearly show an expected ROI in 2010. Who made the purchase recommendation? Why havent they come forward to show the ROI? If there is no ROI, they should be fired.

+ $55000 Missing gasoline expenses in the Facilities Department. How many lawnmowers do we power with $55k in gasoline? If the District isn't powering its own fleet of school buses, how is it that $55k was spent on gas and nobody knows for what?

+ $20000/month (240000 annual) spent on DELL computers. I called Dell. At that monthly expense, we would be spending identical to 3M corporate headquarters in Minnesota! What the heck are we paying for? I put in a FOIA request to find out....and the District says they have no record. How is that even possible?

+ $65000/month (320000 annual) spent on school buses. When I asked for copies of the competitive bids, it turns out there are none. How is it that the District does not bid out the school bus service annually? If there is no bid, I would like to submit one for 2010-2011 that will be $64999/month. I will be the winning bidder. Please send the checks to my house. Also, this is a year round contract. Then why did the District spend $25735 on a "summer school fleet" last summer?

+ ???? Valley Elliehausen Florida Trip to a conference a month ago. I stumbled upon a website advertising her as one of the speakers at a conference in Orlando, Florida. Her topic was along the lines of "How to do more with less". So, I want to know if we the taxpayers paid for ANY part of her trip all the way down to candy bars and parking. If we are going into a $2 million deficit and the District paid for her (and who knows whom else) to go to Florida for 4 days, it will be a glaringly obvious example of the disconnect between Dr. Pat and the taxpayer. I can see the headlines now...."District going bankrupt yet pays for all expense paid trip to Florida"....as a Board member, you should be all over this one because it will land in your lap.

Total OVER $2.1 MILLION dollars in either OVERspent dollars or money spent on items that have no clear explanation.

***The above list is not conclusive and ALL data other than the one for insurance on the jackson land and the salary/taxes/benefits for the Marketing Director are ALL based from District provided data.

As a taxpayer, I want to see a list of all the "equipment" purchased per school. I want to specifically know what "personal services" we are paying for and why. I want to know if the $43000 spent on employee relations is being spent on making staff feel good about doing a job at which financially they are failing to do.

In conclusion, I am highly confident that you will not be asking me further details of the Districts expenditures nor solicting my input going forward on how the District spends our money since it would entail a degree of uncomfortability on your part and tacit acknowledgement that all of my data is accurate and correct. I hope that I am incorrect in my assumption, however, past history is indicative of future results.

As a taxpayer, voter, and father of three children in the District, the lack of leadership at the Board level is disappointing and there are many of us who believe that the Board has and continues to fail in its' civic duties.

I will be publishing this email and circulating it to my friends and neighbors who are highly supportive of a significant overhaul within the leadership ranks of the District.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Did I hear this right? Supt. Pat Herdrich is coming up for a pay increase, and just might get it?

One more thing… the Superintendent is up for review this month. Odds are about 20,000 to 1 that she will receive a raise.

In this era of a taxpayer-rejected tax levy passed by the school board, a referendum that passed at a nearly 50/50 vote and the cries of district taxpayers to stop, this school board just can't seem to listen. They are cutting teachers, programs, making threats......all of the good stuff, except for touching the administration. A pay freeze across the board is laughable. Let's talk reality. Where are the cuts? The cuts. You know. A reduction in pay? Easing up the budget? Put school district administration on one side of the scale and everything else on the other side. Oops! A bit heavy, aren't we?

West Bend taxpayers should be keeping a watchful eye on Pat Herdrich's salary, the school board, and any discussion that ensues concerning a PAY RAISE. This is yet another assault on taxpayer wishes, and West Bend should be outraged if it even comes to light in conversation, let alone actually be considered.

This hearing was poorly chaired. Held in Eau Claire at the Tech. College, two overflow rooms were needed to hold the crowd. Senator Vinehout (D) 31st District, put no time limits on the public speakers. Wisconsin Taxpayers were not given priority. I left at 5 p.m. A total of 40 people had testified at that point, with 120 more to go. Ridiculous! A woman from France, someone from Illinois, Michigan, etc., etc., all were given precedence over Wisconsinites. Perhaps Sen. Vinehout thought everyone would get tired and go home as most everyone at this inconvenient Eau Claire location had to drive for hours to attend. My prayer? I hope they are there "til the cows come home." Over 600 in attendance; at least 95% testified for the bill; 5% against. The bureaucrats were clearly outnumbered. I'll drop a link to Wisconsin Eye's coverage of this hearing when it's posted. Until then, here's some footage:

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The WB School Board is struggling to make budget cuts. Maybe we could start with administration. If the School Board was REALLY listening to ALL the taxpayers, they would have had this right by now. C'mon, people, now, smile on your brother, everybody get together... tell WEAC where to get off.

Monday, March 1, 2010

The students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison agree to support the United Council of UW Students with a mandatory refundable fee of $2.00 per semester and $2.00 per summer session. The amount plus postage is refundable upon written request to the United Council of UW Students postmarked within 45 days of the first day of class. If this referendum passes, it will come up for reconsideration at least every two years. The fee may be adjusted between referenda by the Board of Regents.

When you fill out your registration materials - check "Fair Share" - you will get back at least 25% of your Union dues, and up to 100% in certain areas.

Even if you're not a Fair Share payer, you can still get your political dues back:

"WEAC-PAC dues are also rebateable if a request is made in writing by October 30 or 60 days after joining, whichever is later. The refundable WEAC-PAC dues for teacher members are $19.99 ($10.00 for half-time members) and $10.00 for ESP members ($5.00 for half-time members). Individual refund requests should be made in writing to WEAC President Stan Johnson, P.O. Box 8003, Madison, WI 53708. WEAC will make rebates about November 30, and send a list of individuals receiving rebates to local presidents. Fair share payers automatically receive this rebate and need not request it."

No Pinning. Thanks!

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TIMELINE OF ALA'S HIJACKING OF THE WEST BEND LIBRARY

YOUR LIBRARY: NO LONGER A SAFE PLACE

The West Bend Community Memorial Library and members of the SHARE Library System (to include Germantown, Slinger, Hartford and Kewaskum) no longer can be considered SAFE FOR CHILDREN.

Your library board believes:

1. All materials should be available for all ages (anything goes). Really!2. National control cannot (and should not) be resisted; therefore, the disturbing value system of the ALA, OIF,WLA trumps local control of the library by the citizens and taxpayers it serves.3. Young adults are children ages 11 through 17. (Be sure to address your 11 year old in a manner appropos.)4. Assisting parents in identifying sexually explicit materials within your library is not important to them.5. You must stay with your children and read each book he/she checks out to assure they are not entering into the YA Zone, that is, the "Yes to All Zone."6. ..that if other people's young children (even younger than 11....) are openly reading books of a sexually explicit, graphic nature, say nothing...and by all means, don't stop them from checking them out. You, too, can have an 8-year-old snag "The Joy of Sex" off the shelf right here in your very own library!7. ..that porn filters are not required, therefore, none are needed. True loyalty to the many children they serve. After all, we would not want to restrict freedom of speech to those young'uns!8. ...that organizations such as SafeLibraries,PFOX, PABBIS, and Family Friendly Libraries, that work to protect children from being sexually victimized are not welcome in our community.

9. That the excerpts listed below (WARNING: NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN) are perfectly acceptable for the eyes of children.

This is a propagana battle to ensure children retain access to inappropriate mateial despite the law, common sense and community standards.

PARENTS, TAXPAYERS, CITIZENS OF THE SHARED LIBRARY SYSTEM OF THE WEST BEND COMMUNITY MEMORIAL LIBRARY.......

YOU NO LONGER ARE A TAXPAYING SUPPORTER AND/OR PATRON OF A FAMILY-SAFE LIBRARY.